Elway, Broncos declared winners in draft
In the NFL, almost everything is subject to further review, so it’s premature to declare the Denver Broncos as draft winners because they traded up to get quarterback Paxton Lynch late in the first round.
But anyone can wait three to five years to look back and state the obvious. There’s no entertainment in that. Putting on a Mel Kiper Jr. wig, I’m going ahead and declaring Denver as a draft winner.
“Lynch might be the best quarterback of the bunch,” Sunset Station sports book director Chuck Esposito said. “Only time will tell. But I think it’s a move Denver had to make.”
The Broncos weighed risk, reward, potential and value when gambling on Paxton as the quarterback to eventually replace Peyton. Manning’s retirement, followed by the free-agency departure of Brock Osweiler, put the Super Bowl champions in a predicament. Consider the puzzle solved, at least for now.
Lynch, a former Memphis star, stands 6 feet 6 inches and possesses elite arm strength and mobility. He also displays the personality of a leader, according to some of the personnel experts who interrogated him.
John Elway was impressed. Elway, the Broncos’ general manager, took a long look at Lynch and might have felt he was staring into a mirror. It’s way too premature to say Lynch is another Elway, a Hall of Famer, but the quarterbacks show similar qualities.
Elway dealt two picks to Seattle to move from No. 31 to No. 26 to snag Lynch in Thursday’s first round. Elway said he was “extremely excited” to get the player he had targeted, and I believe in Elway’s expertise.
Quarterbacks went one-two in this NFL Draft, with the Los Angeles Rams trading up to No. 1 for Jared Goff of California and the Philadelphia Eagles trading up to No. 2 to take Carson Wentz from North Dakota State. Both are wild cards.
“I really think there are a lot of questions about the top two quarterbacks,” The Gold Sheet handicapper Bruce Marshall said. “There are some enormous risks there. It takes a couple of years to determine who wins and loses with all this stuff. It’s hard to say.”
Nothing that has happened in the draft, either in Thursday’s first round or Friday’s second and third rounds, will move Week 1 point spreads or regular-season win totals. Still, several of the players picked will have a major impact on the way we handicap the teams further down the road.
Some sharp football bettors say they pay no attention to the draft. We all see things differently. I watch each round to pick up all information possible, and Esposito shares that enthusiasm so much that he threw his annual viewing party Thursday at Sunset Station.
Ready or not, Goff is likely to be the Rams’ starter in their Sept. 12 season opener at San Francisco.
“I think the Rams made the right decision to draft Goff. You’re in a new city, and you want to make a splash,” Esposito said. “The Rams are going to throw him in, because they did not draft him to sit him behind Case Keenum or Nick Foles. He’s starting Week 1 in my opinion.”
The Eagles drafted Wentz with the intention of sitting the rookie behind Sam Bradford and Chase Daniel. A bummed Bradford reportedly wants to be traded, but we now know he’s not going to Denver, and neither are the 49ers’ Colin Kaepernick or the Jets’ Ryan Fitzpatrick. The Broncos will presumably move forward with veteran Mark Sanchez as their starter while Lynch is groomed.
I’ll also declare San Diego and Jacksonville as draft winners. The Chargers needed pass-rush help and got it by taking Ohio State defensive end Joey Bosa at No. 3. The Jaguars continued their roster upgrades by picking Jalen Ramsey, a big cornerback from Florida State, at No. 5.
Dallas, in the No. 4 spot, created the most debate by drafting Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott, a probable star. But was he the right pick for the Cowboys, who apparently followed owner Jerry Jones’ orders.
“From what I hear, Jerry ran roughshod over everybody in the organization to pick Elliott,” Marshall said. “But that’s the problem with Dallas. The Cowboys have been a big disappointment for at least 15 years, and it’s all Jerry.”
Two years ago, Jones resisted his urge to draft Johnny Manziel, and we already know how that turned out. This time, Jones went for a power runner to help quarterback Tony Romo.
“Jerry does get a polarizing back that people are comparing to Adrian Peterson,” Esposito said. “Let’s see if he’s the guy who can help alleviate some of the pressure off Romo and take that offense back to where it was two years ago. I think that’s the biggest question mark, what can Elliott do for the Cowboys?”
In the second round, Tennessee was a winner by stealing Alabama running back Derrick Henry, who could be as good or better than Elliott, with the 45th pick. The Jets, desperate for a quarterback, are probably losers by snapping up underachieving Christian Hackenberg from Penn State at No. 51.
The draft is being held in Chicago, but you could almost hear the boos in New York. In Denver, the Lynch pick should prove to be wise move.
Las Vegas Review-Journal sports betting columnist Matt Youmans can be reached at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907. He co-hosts “The Las Vegas Sportsline” weekdays at 2 p.m. on ESPN Radio (1100 AM). Follow on Twitter: @mattyoumans247
